Virginia Tech Horror--Will We Learn the Right Lessons?

The horror scene at Virginia Tech will be an everlasting tragedy for the dozens of families who have lost loved ones. Their grief and anguish won't be private. Our media will document every tear, every outburst, and peer into every emotional wound, all handled with the most modern of sympathy.

Suffering in public is shared, but it's still suffering. We saw it play out in my hometown of Oklahoma City, when another crazed killer struck there. Tracking grief with a bevy of cameras rarely lessens it. Those who work in private to lend a hand and a comforting shoulder are needed, and thankfully America remains blessed with a multitude of these.

But just as we saw after the Murrah Federal Building was bombed, killing 168, even now groups are planning how the Virginia Tech tragedy can be exploited.

I don't know what perverse attitudes pushed the VT gunman, but I know the attitudes that push those who will to use the situation to promote a political agenda. Colleges cannot guarantee that no tragedy will occur on-campus, and gun control laws cannot either. A campus with 25,000 students is its own city no more immune to threats than any other community.

Inquiry into the actions and inactions of leaders and law enforcement is proper, but it shouldn't be stampeded by the media's rush to fix blame as quickly as possible. The Duke lacrosse team is only the latest of many bad examples of this.

Modern media can't capture the true compassion of America. Blacksburg, Virginia, like Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has many people of faith. I saw them step forward in my hometown, where they were the ones who made the difference. I know they are stepping forward now in Blacksburg and in the hometowns of the grieving families. Perhaps, rather than using this tragedy to promote political agendas, it's a good time to focus on the value of religious faith. It provides the comfort that no TV anchor can.